The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-06-18
KILLING BY MACHINERY,
HOW Hogs Are Slaughtered and Dressed
In the Chicago Abattoirs,

How Hogs Are Slaughtered and Drcsse,
in the Chicago Abattoirs.
The use of machinery in slaughter
ing is confined almost altogether tc
hog-abattoirs, though beeves, after be.
ing shot in the brain or stunned by
hammer blows upon the forehead, are
lifted by steam power appliances to the
hanging position, in which their throat:
are cut and cntrails removed. At the
head OF hog-slaughtcring gangway
are several small pens, in one or more
OF which workmen are busy afiixine
loop-chains to the hind legs of the ami
mails. An attendant pulls lever, and
the hog is quickly lifted clear of the
pen and carried head downward upon
hanging-rail to the killing-pen. Here
stands the sticker, covered with blood
and knife in hand. AS the hogs slide
slowly past him. he seizes each one by
fore leg, pulls the throat towards
him and quickly pierces the heart with
his knife, taking care to make an OPEN
ing IN the breast and neck large enough
to permit free and rapid flow of tho
blood. In two minutes the sliding
carcass has reached the end of the
sticking pen, where life is SUP.
posed to be extinct, though it some-
times happens that this is not the case
Here workman removes the chain
from the leg and places it over wire.
on which it slides back to the catching
pen. The carcass then drops in the
scalding vat, which is eight feet wido
and thirty feet long,and filed with water
keptat boilingte temperature by constant
injection of steam. Two workmen float
this carcass through the tub and upon
Al large iron cradle operated by steam
power which lifts the carcass from the
vat and throws it upon the table. An
iron hook is here inserted in the law
and affixed to one of the links of nm
endless chain, which draws the steam
ing carcass, head first. into the scrap
ing machine. This (Bouchard' con-
sists OF Il series of wheels whose peri
pheries are protruding, elastic steel
blades, each sixteen inches long and
four wide, and set in triplets. The
ends OF the blades are turned sharply
toward the sixteenth part of an inch,
forming rims of the sharpness of the
bent edge of IL sheet of zinc. There are
nine OF these wheels all revolving in n
direction the reverse of that in which
the carcass is drawn through the ma
chine. The wheels are automatically
arranged so that hogs of different sizes
and shapes are cleaned of four-fifths Of
The hair. The remaining hair is then re-
moved by hand-scrapers. The head is
severed by few strokes of II large knife,
IN the hands of an expert workman,
while another is adjusting the gambrel
md pulls n lever, which lifts the car
'ass and suspends it from the overhead
rack down whose incline it slides to
he cutting and cleaning-room. Each
slaughter gang consists of 12O mon
working between the catching-pcns
lnd the hanging or chill-room, in
vhich the carcasses are left hanging
'ver night. in order that all animal
ieat may have disappeared from the |
neat before 1t is sent to the packing !
department.. Each pig-sticker kills |
learly 800 animals an hour; and the
rang OF l2O men can slaughter, scrape
md dress 1000 hogs in ten hours, with
he assistance of this labor-saving ma
hinery, whereas, by the old methods
he same numbero of men could kill and
lean but l.6O0 hogs.-CAicago Cor.
'pringfcld (O) Times.